HOUSES in the Ribble Valley are now worth more on average than home in the prosperous South East thanks to Lancashire's rural property boom.

New figures from the Land Registry -- which records sales -- have shown that the average for the first three months of this year in Clitheroe, Whalley, Longridge and the surrounding villages was £209,407.

That is up 31.9per cent on the previous quarter and 70.5per cent on the year.

The increase eclipses even the most prosperous areas of the South East, including some of the most fashionable boroughs in London, like Kensington, where prices only rose 7.4per cent year on year.

Overall in the South East, the average property price is now £204,307 -- up 8.22 per cent on last year.

Estate agents in the Ribble Valley today put the rises down to a variety of factors, including improved access since the completion of the M65 and good schools.

Terrace houses in the Ribble Valley -- often sturdy stone cottages, unlike elsewhere in East Lancashire where pre 1919-terraces are the scourge of the property market -- have increased in value the most over the last year, up 176per cent to £223,299. A detached house sold for £226,395, up from £208,453 in the year, while owners of a semi could expect to get £149,297, up from £117,249 on the year.

Price rises elsewhere in East Lancashire are not as steep and while prices in Pendle and Burnley both rose year on year, the first three months saw prices fall back too.

Sarah Leach, branch manager of Fox and Co estate agents in Longridge, said: "We can sell a two or three-bedroomed end terrace without parking for £180,000 now.

"Overall, the Ribble Valley is very popular for a number of factors. The M65 has helped make parts of the area more accessible to Manchester and people have realised they can live somewhere very nice, it does have Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status, and people can still get to the city.

"The area falls within catchment for good schools, both private and state schools, such as Clitheroe Royal Grammar School."

Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis said: "The top 10 property hotspots are all outside the south, with towns in the North East featuring heavily amongst them.

"We expect the gap between the north and south to narrow further during the remainder of 2004, although house price inflation in many areas outside the South is likely to slow."

3 years to save deposit

IT takes first-time buyers in the North West six months longer to save for a house deposit than a decade ago, according to a report out today.

Research by National Savings and Investments revealed that, since 1994, the time it takes to save for a five per cent deposit on a first home has increased from two years six months to three years.

With increases across the UK of between three and 15 months for the average first-time buyer to save for a deposit, it's harder than ever for those who want to get a foothold on the property ladder.

The extra time taken is down to the fact that, in the North West, income increases of an average 62 per cent have not matched increases in house prices - about 97 per cent - over the past 10 years.